On the MOVEThe Helen Adams Realty Monthly Market Update

July 2015

The curtain closes and the first half of 2015 is a finished act. Monthly market analysis helps nudge the real estate story forward for a final bow. The orchestra (consumers) and conductor (the REALTOR®) are thanked. Metropolitan operas, er, markets across the country continue to improve and further perform at peaks not seen in years. Bad memories from that one lousy show known as the Great Recession are pushed even further into the past.

New Listings in the Charlotte region increased 1.7 percent to 5,133. Pending Sales were up 26.5 percent to 4,438. Inventory levels fell 23.8 percent to 13,167 units.

Prices continued to gain traction. The Median Sales Price increased 4.5 percent to $206,089. List to Close was down 4.8 percent to 119 days. Sellers were encouraged as Months Supply of Inventory was down 35.6 percent to 3.9 months.

Having six months of 2015 data in the books is great, but it is still just intermission at this halfway point of the year. Forecasting market trends can be as dicey as the weather, but with interest rates managing to remain low into the summer months, the outlook is promising, even if rates go up later in the year. Metrics like inventory and percent of list price received at sale are two of the better understudies to watch this year.

Markets Continue to Improve Through First Half of 2015 Reprinted from June 2015 CRRA Monthly Indicators

P2 Vital Signs

P3 Mudroom Madness Prep for Open Houses

P4 Residential Closings

InthisIssue

Evelyn McCorkleTrusted Real Estate Advsior

704.957.3558emccorkle@helenadamsrealty.com

The Vitals:A look at Charlotte’s Improving Market.

• The inventory of homes for sale decreased causing the

months supply to decrease 35.6% over last year to 3.9

months supply of homes for sale. With supply well

under 6 months, the market is incredibly competitive

for buyers.

• The average sales price for homes in the Charlotte-

Mecklenburg area is up 0.8% to $260,003.

• The average number of days list to close has decreased

to 119 days, down 4.8% from 125 days during the

same time last year.

• The price range with the strongest sales is $300,001

and above, up 26.7% from this time last year.

• In June, homes with two bedrooms or less had the

strongest sales in the Charlotte area, increasing 20.7%

over the last 12 month period.

• Overall, the amount of inventory in the Charlotte

area has decreased 23.8% over the last 12 months to

a total of 13,167 homes for sale, down from 17,288.

Change in Closed Sales

PendingSales

Change inNew Listings

AverageSales Price

Total Active Listings

Average DaysList to Close

Months Supply of Homes for Sale

+22.1%

4,434

+1.7%

5,133

-4.8%

119

+26.5%

4,438

-23.8%

13,167

+0.8%

$260,003

-35.6%

3.9

(1)

(1) Data Represents change in data since this time last year. (2) Data Represents the most recent month’s data for CMLS.

(2)

Monthly Market Snapshot

Charlotte, North Carolina And the Surrounding Areas

Market UpdatesHow do I know which type of mortgage is best for me?

There isn’t a single, simple answer to this question. The right type of mortgage for you depends on many different factors:

• Your current financial picture;• How you expect your finances to change;• How long you intend to keep your house;• How comfortable you are with your mortgage payment changing from

time to time.

For example, a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage can save you many thousands of dollars in interest payments over the life of the loan, but your monthly payments will be higher. And an adjustable rate mortgage may get you started with a lower monthly payment than a fixed-rate mortgage — but your payments could get higher when the interest rate changes.

The best way to find the “right” answer is to discuss your finances, your plans and financial prospects, and your preferences frankly with one of our mortgage consultants:Randolph Road: Chris Tilley, NMLS# 93815, 704.649.6256;Ballantyne: Ashleigh Clark, NMLS ID#92328, 704.307.9908;Lake Norman: Jennie Daniels, NMLS#93346, 704.237.9910.

Cunningham & Company’s

Monthly Average 30-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage Ratesas reported by www.freddiemac.com

4.164.13 4.12

4.16

4.044

3.86

3.67

3.71

3.77

3.67

3.84

3.98

3.5

3.6

3.7

3.8

3.9

4

4.1

4.2

Jun. 14 Jul. 14 Aug. 14Sept. 14 Oct. 14 Nov. 14 Dec. 14 Jan. 15 Feb. 15 Mar. 15 Apr. 15 May. 15 Jun. 15

Monthly Market Snapshot

Preparing for your next Open House

Mudroom Madness

With the Charlotte real estate market still in full swing, open houses are happening all over town, which means lots of prep work for our sellers out there. Wondering what items to add to your “to-do” list? Don’t forget these:

Prepping your Bathroom: Cleaning, de-cluttering and repairs are on top of the Realtor.com prep list, but other items include staging the tub, bringing in fresh flowers and even purchasing a few spare towels for showing use only, so they always look fresh and clean. Prepping your Kitchen: Start with cleaning your surfaces (stoves, counters, floors, cabinets), then make sure you de-clutter, and stage and that there is no evidence of food on cooktops, in microwaves or on other kitchen surfaces. Don’t worry about setting the table, just keep the space clean and let it speak for itself.

Prepping the Master Bedroom: The master is a huge selling point in a home so you want to make sure it looks top-notch. It’s one room you KNOW everyone will look at so make sure it makes a good first impression. Make sure to clean up any clutter and turn on lamps. Also, open up those shades and let the light shine in! Take a little time to organize and clean out your closet and other storage spaces. Those things can make or break a room. Securing Your Home: As with any showing, but especially during an open house, with increased traffic and unscheduled visitors, it’s important to make sure you take the proper precautions to secure your personal belongings beforehand. Also, make sure to double check that things are safe and secure after the fact.

Mudrooms, drop zones and other door-side organizational areas have been a huge hit lately. You’ve probably seen them on Pinterest or in different home decor magazines, complete with cubbies, hooks and cabinets, the perfect mud room or drop zone is a space you can store all your everyday items once you get home, such as coats, shoes, bags, briefcases, etc. so that they aren’t laying around in the kitchen or garage and cluttering up your home. Tradi-tional mudrooms are a separate room right off the garage or the rear entry of your home that you would use daily. These spaces tend to be more common up north, where a space is needed to remove snow boots and winter layers so that you don’t track mud through the house, however, they are becom-ing popular all over as a great storage space for anything and everything you might not have space for elsewhere. If you have been dying to add a space like this to your home, Real Simple has come up with 5 ways you can fake it till you make it! Check out some of these awesome ideas for getting a some of the best features of a mudroom into your entryway.

Revamp a corner: Use a small corner by the door, or in the kitchen or laundry room that you can designate as the drop zone. You can add hooks and crates or bins for easy storage, they don’t even have to be built-ins. A bookshelf from Ikea with a few baskets and a row of coat hooks could do the trick.

Transform your Hallway: If your day-to-day entry has a long hallway lead-ing to the main living area, try adding some built-in storage solutions along the wall. Similar to above, you can add coat hooks and some shelves and possibly a bench. The great thing about a long hallway is that you have tons of extra space to play with in creating a great storage area.

Designate Garage Space: If you prefer to keep shoes and coats outside your home, find a place in the garage near the door where you have quick access to the items you leave out there. If you have stairs and a landing coming into the house, maybe create a similar corner nook as you might inside us-ing a few hooks and storage solutions

Rework a closet: If you have a coat closet, think about re-purposing it. Sometimes when storage isn’t designated for a specific space and has no organization it just becomes a catch-all space, as opposed to a functional storage solution.

Utilize A Nook: if you have an existing alcove or similar unused space you can take advantage of it and create a storage alcove!

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Jun. 14 Jul. 14 Aug. 14 Sept. 14 Oct. 14 Nov. 14 Dec. 14 Jan. 15 Feb. 15 Mar. 15 Apr. 15 May. 15 Jun. 15

Residential Closings for the Entire CMLS AreaJune 2014 - June 2015

$257,854ASP

$241,485ASP

$242,121ASP

$228,085ASP

$228,080ASP

$227,104ASP

$229,437ASP

$233,505ASP

$218,673ASP

$234,351ASP

$241,176ASP

$245,197ASP

$260,003ASP

Evelyn MCCorkle Trusted Real Estate Advisor 704.957.3558

emccorkle@helenadamsrealty.com

2301 Randolph Road

Charlotte NC 28207